Month: October 2014

GUEST BLOG By Shaun Sanders,3L at Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law

Like many law students, I was encouraged to avoid using supplements and create my own outlines.

Admirable as that may be, it is not how I learn. I learn by triangulating information from multiple sources. In an ideal world, the supplements I use would be from the same book, professor, and class that I am taking. The world is obviously not ideal… if it were, I would be too busy sitting on a beach in my underwear to write this blog post.

When it comes to supplements, I have nearly literally tried them all. Through networking and some Craigslist luck, I acquired about $4,000 in supplements from various graduates in my area. Supplements can be great to break down more complicated topics/concepts, but they don’t help much when it comes to a specific class. So what’s a law student to do?

1. Outline Banks

Chances are you have clubs on your campus. Some clubs, like APALSA, lead the pack when it comes to comprehensive outline banks with extensive collections of notes for just about every class/professor combination at your school. Law Reviews and journals also provide some pretty great resources, but may be harder to get your foot in the door (so to speak).

2. Find the Top Students and Ask

I am pretty generous when it comes to my outlines, but it requires 1L and 2L’s to take the initiative to ask me. In fact, the best outlines I have come across were ones that I asked for specifically from top-ranked students. If you don’t know how to find those students, try checking CALI.org.

Aside from being a fantastic resource in general for studying, CALI.org is home of the “CALI Award,” which is an award provided to the top student of every class for just about every law school in the country. Once you locate your school on their website’s CALI Award section, find the semester prior to yours and locate the name of the student who received the highest grade — then get to know them.

3. Online Communities

Most people are aware of forums like Top-Law-Schools.com, but I’ve found that smaller communities are much more helpful. Reddit.com has a section dedicated to law students (/r/lawschool) and, if you are a member there, then you can qualify for their secret/private Law School Outlines section which provides some of the highest quality, curated outlines you will get your hands on.

4. Google-Foo

Do you know boolean? You should. You don’t need to be a pro at how to use advanced search qualifiers for Google, but there are some important ones that can make your life easier.

First: “site:[SITE HERE]” Example: site:reddit.com

The “site:” qualifier limits a google search to a specific website. This can be helpful for all sorts of things. For example, say you are trying to crowdsource some information for your scholarly writing assignment. Something like “site:reddit.com “topic name”” will isolate your search to Reddit’s community of somewhat-peer-reviewed comments, articles, and links. It can be a great way to generate sources to investigate, etc.

Outlines generally come in either PDF or Word Document form. Thus, telling Google to only search for those types of documents will increase your odds of finding a legitimate outline for free.

Third: “intitle:[Search Term]” Example: intitle:”Tort Outline”

The “intitle” qualifier restricts your search to the title of a document, which can really help you narrow down your search.

Putting it all together requires a bit of common sense. Let’s say, for example, I am looking for a good Constitutional Law outline. I need to try to think of terms that will likely be found inside of a con law outline. Even if I know nothing of the subject, a simple google search will tell me that one of the most iconic cases from con law is Roe v. Wade and some unique terms for the class are “due process” and “privileges and immunities.”

Knowing this, I can create the following search string:

Roe AND “due process” AND “privileges and immunities” filetype:doc intitle:outline

In layman’s terms, this search string will look for any WORD document with “OUTLINE” in its title that contains the words ROE, DUE PROCESS, and PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES. Popping it into Google results in almost 500 outlines.

At this point, I would likely try to refine the search by including more words and case names that come from my book until I narrow it down to only a handful of really on-point outlines.

I had the pleasure of attending Law Preview—a law school “jump start program—as both a student and a student facilitator. I learned a lot, and I think it truly helped me do well my first year.

One of the best things I learned from Law Preview was to be selfish The program’s Success Lecturer told us that during the first year, the key to succeeding would be planning our time and sticking to a schedule. He told us that we would have to say no to invitations, miss out on vacations, and essentially cut ourselves off from the world until after finals.

I did just that (sort of), and I did well. Of course, nobody advocated living like a hermit and/or cutting off contact with friends and family, but the message was clear—you’re going to have to work hard… you’re going to have to turn down fun… you’re going to have to sacrifice.

However, as a second-year student, I found myself wondering what advice I would give to incoming 2Ls. After the first round of finals, most 1Ls are savvy to the degree of sacrifice necessary to do well. And after the entire first year, we all know what is required. Therefore, what is the “secret” for success after the first year?

I have found the secret is networking. Of course, students still need to do well. But outside of grades, the best way to secure summer work, externships, or other opportunities, is by old-fashioned networking.

My strategy has been to hoard my contacts in a Word Document. Each time I meet someone in the legal profession, I store his or her name, email, and phone number. That way, I can always have that information handy.

For instance, last week, I wanted to apply for an extern position, but I knew nothing about the position or the people who worked there. So, I applied, then got to work. I researched the people currently working there. I realized one of the women who would interview me worked at a firm that I was familiar with before starting at her current position. So I emailed a contact from that firm, and got some great info about her. I then spoke to some classmates who had externed for this organization in past years. At that point, I was in a much better position for my interview, and it was all thanks to networking with others.

Now that the crazy midterm studying madness is over, I was able to attend a few events hosted by my law school.

One of these events was hosted by the law school’s career services department. Even though the leaves are changing and the air is getting colder (and it will be probably snow next week – thanks Michigan), summer is not that far away. In about 7 months, us 1Ls will be working at a law office, or with the public defender’s office, or for a judge. Now is the time to start researching positions and figuring out where you would like to be spending your summer.

One tip that the career services department recommended was to begin looking into legal fairs.

For example, if you are interested in patent law, look into fairs for patent law. They said that these fairs offer opportunities to network with law offices from a specific region and even from around the country.

The event also stressed the importance of connecting with friends, family, neighbors, and professors for networking purposes.

A simple conversation with your long-lost aunt may help you land an awesome position for the summer. Reach out to those that you believe may have connections. This will open a gateway for amazing opportunities. Remember to always send a thank you card (or email) to those who have helped you with this process!

Also, the department suggested perfecting your resume now.

Make it a point to stop into your law school’s career office to make yours amazing. It is a good idea to go sooner than later because you will avoid the rush of other law students and you can send your resume to people in your network.

Take your head out of the contracts book and step away from civ pro for a while and start planning ahead for summer positions. You never know where a simple google search, family connection, or career services consultation will take you!

GUEST BLOG By Shaun Sanders, 3L at Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law

Last week I discussed some of the fundamental factors to networking that I feel are often overlooked by my classmates. This week, I’d like to talk more about the right “networking attitude” and mindset to adopt when diving in.

Be the Networker you Want to Be

I am known to be somewhat of a social butterfly and am often approached by friends for advice on how to improve their networking. They are usually shocked when I point out that I am, by nature, somewhat of an introvert. I have always enjoyed people, but I am still prone to somewhat crippling anxiety when it comes to public speaking or putting myself into the spotlight. However, ever since I was a child, I wished I was like the kids who seemed to just naturally position themselves into the center of interest. I want to be the type of person who can speak in public, and I want to be the type of person who can meet new people easily. Over the years, I have identified others with networking attributes I admired and then consciously pushed myself out of my comfort zone in a “trial by fire” of social awkwardness. As a result, I am now pretty comfortable with striking up conversation with others and have gotten to the point where people assume this is “just me being me.”

Awkward moments are inevitable. At my law school, there are still a handful of students who are aware of the “Sanders Shuffle.” It was coined after I had completely botched a networking opportunity event at my school. I, and other first-years, were dressed up and mingling with various lawyers, judges, and other professionals from the local legal community. I hung close to a group of 4 friends and, together, we tried to join into groups where the professionals were chatting amongst students. However, every time we attempted to join a group, the professional in the circle was on the tail-end of his conversation and left to join some other group. It was frustrating. I eventually went to the restroom and, when I came back, the group I had been hanging out had managed to lure a professional into its circle. I walked over and stood on its outskirts, but no one made any gesture or acknowledgment that I had come back — and I was determined to actually talk to someone that night. So I sort of “wiggled” into the circle.

Imagine a tight circle of 4 individuals all engaging in conversation when suddenly someone gently forces themselves into your ranks. That was me. I was that guy. The circle went silent. The professional, a respected judge from our county, stared at me with disgust. I realized that I had completely ruined the moment. As conversation picked back up, I noticed the judge made a conscious effort to not make eye contact with me. I didn’t even hear the words that came out of his mouth most of the time, as I was too busy trying to figure out a way to dig myself out of this hole.

When I had a chance to ask a question, I raised my hand. The judge’s eyes scanned across everyone else to see if there were better opportunities for his time, and seemed to begrudgingly acknowledge me. I asked, “Would you have any advice for a first year student who, while at a networking event, chooses to sort of ‘wiggle’ into a conversation and completely embarrass themselves?”

The circle was quiet again. The judge stared at me. Then his smirk and laugh led to the rest of the group joining in. From that point on, he became a good contact of mine and I learned a couple valuable lessons (first, never to try that again… and second, that even in a completely serious setting, a bit of self-deprecation goes a long way to breaking ice).

Build Relationships

Trying to be the networker I want to be has resulted in me realizing how simple networking really is. Sure, there are people out there who will never want to speak with you or spare a moment of their time to exchange even a few words over e-mail, but a vast majority of people want the same thing most of us want: someone else to do the work. We have all met people who, despite being a stranger, manage to make us feel completely comfortable with them. They are usually the de facto life of the party, etc. But what is really going on in these situations?

No one likes to feel awkward or disconnect with others, but few put themselves into a position of being the “ice breaker.” Ice breaking doesn’t take any skill or charm, just the willingness to be the first to extend a bit of hospitality to another. When it comes to professional networking, this often manifests itself as the ability to get to know the person behind the title first. It can be as simple as bringing up a baseball game or some common point of interest between the two of you or, for people like me who aren’t really sports fans, it can be as simple as asking someone, “So, how’s your week gone?”

I have built countless relationships within my network by starting things off with opening myself up as a willing ear to hear their problems, issues, stresses, etc. Mutual venting is a fantastic way to set the tone of your conversation as being more personal and flexible. From that point, with that foundation in place, it becomes so much easier to make the person feel as if a personal investment in you is worth their time or attention… because you’re not just another student, you’re an individual they understand.

Persistence

The final bit of advice I can offer stems from a personal issue I faced in law school. I come from the technology industry where even a CEO is only a text message away. Not hearing back from someone within a few days time usually means there is a problem. But that isn’t how things work in the legal environment.

No matter how interesting you may be, or how good of a relationship is that you formed with someone — law is grueling, and people get behind. As a result, it is on you to keep the ball moving. I often make a point to try to connect with someone once per week when I am trying to schedule a time for coffee or a chat. On its face, sending unanswered e-mails once per week may seem overbearing or even risk annoying the individual… and it may. Fortunately, in the professional world, people who legitimately don’t want to talk to you (or simply can’t due to time constraints) will be forward about it.

There have been three or four times where my attempts to meet someone have ended with a blunt “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you,” or “I don’t have time to speak with you,” etc. The vast majority of times, however, have resulted in me finally being able to get that meeting once the person’s schedule opens up. No animosity, awkwardness, etc. It’s simply business. In fact, but for my persistence my first-year, I would have landed my dream-internship at a large financial investment company. As I would find out later, the guy I was trying to get in touch with had some personal priorities arise that he had to take care of which spanned over two months of time and led to me feeling pretty deflated about my chances of getting in. But persistence worked out.

In other words, unless you are specifically told to stop reaching out to someone — keep reaching out. Keep trying. It can be as simple as replying to the previous e-mail you sent with, “Just touching base again. Hope your week is going well!”

I hope some of this advice has been helpful to you. I know it can be difficult to make the first move, so if you need practice, feel free to reach out to me first.

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